Reader Group Message

WHY, WHEN & HOW TO START A GROUP?

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This question gets asked a lot by new authors. So I felt it necessary to do a large message that can be searchable. 

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This is only my experience. I started my group in 2015. I shared it with my friends and they joined.

My first book did not publish until January of 2016, so I had the group open BEFORE I had a published book. I do NOT use paid advertisement for my group or any of my books. I am STRICTLY a word of mouth author. 

I also have other groups, like my Release Club and my ARC group. So I feel I can give advice on this matter.

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• START YOUR GROUPS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! Yes, I know you you might not have a book published yet, I get it. Still, start!!

• WHAT DO I TALK OR POST ABOUT IF I DON'T HAVE A PUBLISHED BOOK YET? 1) You, talk about yourself. Your experience starting this new career. Find things to become relatable to your members. 2) Your WIP, (Work in Progress) post excerpts, teasers (one-liners). Tell them what to expect. Tell them how many words you wrote today, Tell them about your characters. etc.

• HOW DO I FIND MEMBERS? There is no magic wand! Not going to lie, in the beginning, it is very hard! You are unknown. Who is going to want to know about you? What do you mean you don't have a book yet? You're nervous and a little timid!! I GET IT!!! It seems stupid but trust me this is how we all start. YOU CAN DO THIS!!!! I had my friends join, I asked them to share about my group on all their social media pages. I did takeovers asking people to follow me and join my group. I asked author friends to allow me to share about my newly opened group in their groups. I posted it everywhere I could think of. BECOME A PIMP!! Every post talked about the promise to deliver fun and spoke about my upcoming book. You can also invite people but some hate this. You can also pay for a post to be boosted. NOW ONCE YOUR BOOK IS PUBLISHED!! Put all your social media links including your group link inside of your books. I even have a picture of my brand with the name of my group on Amazon for readers to see. I also constantly post about my group as a reminder for my followers on my author page to join. When posting on other pages, teasers or book release info, always put your links to your group and other social media if you want.

• HOW DO I KEEP THEM INTERESTED IN STAYING? Entertain! Play games, post memes, questions of the day, man candy, motivational memes, celebrate birthdays, and events, have takeover parties, etc. BUT ALWAYS TRY TO BRING IT BACK TO YOU AND YOUR WORK!

• WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF A GROUP? Groups are important today because everything is now about social media. When once an author could stay behind the shadow, new authors are using technology to be seen and heard. And social media stretches slowly world wide. A group is a BUSINESS. It is where you gather members to hopefully turn them into loyal readers. Your presence is important. Readers love to gather with other readers of yours and form connections with each other and you. This is where you will not only entertain but you will build excitement about your work, also along with other social media pages. But here is where your readers are waiting to learn more. BUT REMEMBER all names (contacts) on social media are not yours. If you ever get banned or shut down you need to have another way to reach your readers. A NEWSLETTER is valuable!! Get your readers to sign-up because it might be your only way of reaching them if needed.

• WHAT ELSE CAN I USE MY GROUP OR SOCIAL MEDIA FOR? The most important thing to know, THIS IS A BUSINESS. Treat it as such, be professional at all times. There is a hard balance between relatable and professionalism. Use your social media (GROUP) to market yourself along with your work. Market other things like your paperbacks and merchandise. Branding and merch are big. I have done several things and did very well. So well that I am also in the works of doing a merchandise shop this soon after my first book.

• CAN I HIRE HELP TO RUN MY GROUP? Most definitely! You can hire a PA to run all your social media. You can also ask readers for their help. I personally kept my costs low in the beginning. I asked my friends to help me, then I found out that readers wanted to volunteer. I have also trained a reader to help me and she blossomed into forming her own author service business. I am currently training another one. AGAIN THOUGH THIS IS YOUR GROUP AND YOU NEED TO BE AS ACTIVE AS YOU CAN BE!! THEY WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!!!!

• WHERE TO START? Form the group. link it to your author page, but also make sure your profile is in there as well. Make up a name,(add your full author name to the name of group. Example, 'Michelle's Beautiful Belle's'. You want them to know this is your group and someone new to you searching can easily find it by searching your name.) and cover photo, and a few graphics. Make RULES (this will be based on what you are willing to allow inside your group. No nudes, no drama, etc.) Decide if you want it public or closed (Most groups are closed, although I have seen a few public) Decide if you want it to be all women or if you want men allowed. (personally, mine is all ladies. I do not let my male readers  in my group. Because I want my ladies to feel comfortable to post as they want. A lot of posts are personal to them, (lady things or marriage related, etc.). And they would not post them with men in the group. I also want to protect them from possible harassment which I have seen in other groups. Sometimes men will try to pick up on ladies or bash them for posting man candy, etc. Will, all men do this? NO! But I have seen it done.

• MAKE QUESTIONS to join if your group is private. You should always vet possible new members because there are a lot of fake accounts of people out there that only want to cause problems. Even with questions and vetting, some will still slip by you and get in. But questions help. For instance, one question asks about age, I do not let anyone in under 18. Think of questions to ask about your work can be helpful. FIND someone you trust to be added on as admin. You ill need this because if anything ever happens to you (FB JAIL LOL) you will need someone with the power to keep the group running.

• SEEMS LIKE A LOT!! It is! You will have to find time in your schedule to not only write but be on social media. It is critical that you participate by engaging and interacting with your readers. THE NUMBER ONE THING I TELL ALL THE NEW AUTHORS I MENTOR IS, "WRITING IS FUN, BUT PUBLISHING IS WORK!"

To get scheduled or for any questions email Michelle Heron at givemethedeets@outlook.com